First, it’s Earth Day. It’s one of those holidays that most people give a nod to in passing. We humans are creatures of habit, afterall. While we may remember to appreciate the beauty of nature for the day, making it a daily occurrence takes some dedication.

Just remember though…your life is 100% affected by your perspective. A positive mindset can go a long way towards building permanent happiness. One of the things that involves is appreciating what we have. For me, that includes stopping to notice and experience the beauty of the world around us.

Juxtapose

Now, as part of Earth Day awareness, we may also recognize we don’t do as much as we should to protect our planet. But again, change is difficult. “I want to recycle…but the recycling bin is down by the street. I’ll just do it…..tomorrow.”
Here’s the thing though….you’re better than that. Change is difficult. Bad habits are hard to break. I’m not saying it will be easy. I’m saying it will be worth it.

At the moment, this is our only home. That water? It’s all we have. That polluted air? Well, it’s all connected and it’s in your lungs too. That soil? …well, you get my point.

Make a decision to be good to your world. Give the gift of a healthy future to your children.

The House on Grass Island, one of many images featured in my new ebook. Get it now!

Ok…the first of four things is Earth Day. The next thing? A great Black and White Challenge issued by John over at Book of Bokeh. John’s blog is great, and I enjoy his point of view on things. Make sure to swing by and give his blog a read.

Now, I’ve actually already been issued several B&W challenges (and participated once a few months back), so I’m going to condense this round into one post. I know, it’s not the way the rules read….but damnit….rules are meant to be broken.

The Pillars :: New Hampshire

In the spirit of breaking rules, and embracing monochrome images, I actually challenge ALL of you to give B&W a try. It truly is it’s own art. It is photography that carries it’s own set of guidelines to be effective, and requires a deliberate, thoughtful approach to have long term success in the medium.

(For those of you interested in learning more, I actually have an article about learning to see in Black and White in the newest issue of Light & Landscape Magazine.)

Oh! That’s the third thing. It’s April 22nd, and I have my art in that ^^ magazine.

Now….what was the fourth thing??

Mono and Moody :: CT

Was it….eeerrr….ummm…. I am helping to run a new Instagram feature page? Where we put together lovely images from contributors and share those images with like minded individuals in the hopes of creating a safe community atmosphere where people can discuss their mutual interest of photography??

Nah…that’s not it. (Although I do help with a new IG account, which you can be a part of. Just follow @i_took_a_photo and use the hashtag #w_my_camera )…..get it? I took a photo with my camera! Now you will always remember it!

But for reals, that wasn’t the fourth thing. I should really start putting together outlines for my blogs.

out….lines…..reminds me of The Outbound, where I am now doing write ups on some of my trips. The Outbound is a great website that any traveler, adventure…er?, and explorer should be a part of. It gives you the background on what it takes to get to crazy awesome locations, like the ones you see in my shots.

It is also not number four on the “April 22 list”. Maybe I meant to ask you to sign up for my newsletter? Because you can’t get deals on the upcoming book without the newsletter.

Or maybe I was just going to tell you to stay cool, Daddy-o? I don’t remember. I need an assistant to start writing these things down for me.

Lol Thanks! It was from my first trip to Acadia (hopefully many more to come…that place is awesome) last fall. We weren’t sure if the weather was going to cooperate, but the texture in the sky ended up adding something to the scene. 🙂

Dreamsong–what is moving and what isn’t? Sky, water, earth? Wind, clouds? Makes me want to go outside right now and take deep breaths of fresh air–even on a cloudy, gray day! Thank you for your inspirational photo, dreamsong